Chapter 112 - Working off Some Anger

The more Blake stewed over his current situation, the more angry he became. He grasped his spear tightly and squeezed the wood between his fists as he stomped from the office.

What the hell is wrong with her? Is she trying to destroy our faction? She even told people the video could be misleading, and she published it anyway!

Blake stormed from the faction hall, past the ring of campers, and toward the fires in the distance. Roger and his laborers planned to work through the night, and needed the light. Over a hundred fires in a ring around their town were maintained. The light sources were located adjacent to the construction site of their defense, eight hundred feet away from the center of town. 

A number of Antonio’s guards stood with their backs to the flames, armed with rifles, ready to eliminate the few threats that trickled in. Once the defense directive was completed, the relative cascade of monsters that had attacked them was reduced to a drip.

Their new wall would span over five thousand feet and rise ten feet from the ground. The fact that Roger insisted they could complete it in a little over twenty-four hours still amazed Blake. Dozens of laborers ferried stone from the quarry to the wall in a constant stream, while others strategically stacked the rock together. With the aid of the Collective, the stone was fused together seamlessly, and hardened until it was denser than granite.

The feat was a wonder to behold, yet as Blake passed the workers, he barely even noticed their progress. He was consumed by his own thoughts, as he stalked toward the Tiefling portal a half mile away.

You’d think by now people would give me the benefit of the doubt. Hell, if it wasn’t for me, they’d all be dead or hiding. They wouldn’t have time to complain about how he handled criminals. They wouldn’t even know about it!

He so badly wanted to kick Jennifer from the faction, and tell everyone who whined to go screw themselves. They were ungrateful, hopelessly naive, and at the moment, he did not care if they died from their own ignorance.

Stupid Architect and its social media. Should’ve never made the change. 

Blake tightened his fists on his spear and imagined his mother’s words if she read his thoughts.

Deep down, Blake knew that they could not possibly know he was responsible for their social media features. After all, he had not shared the results of his negotiation with anyone. The fact that he even met the Architect, made him look complicit in its crimes. The new title, ‘Ambassador to the Architect’, made the connection between them even stronger, and would counter any argument to the contrary.

Blake blindly stomped toward the red light in the distance as he seethed.

Stupid AI.

But, what frustrated him the most, was that the stupid addition to the Collective made it even more important that he work with Jennifer and share his side of the story. He needed her to set the facts straight. If he kicked her out or alienated her further, things would only get worse for him and his faction. Oliver’s amusement while Blake watched the video did not help him remain calm either, almost as if he enjoyed his brother’s fall from grace. 

I’d like to slap the crap out of both of you. 

That was why he needed to run a scenario before he talked to her, despite knowing the sooner he responded the better. He was too angry and frustrated. 

Stupid hormones.

If he met with her that night, he would come across as a petulant child, not a competent leader. So instead, he planned to work out his frustration on the demonic looking Tieflings.

Before he knew it, he stood before his destination, the swirling red portal situated on the shore of the Little Colorado River. Without hesitation, he stepped within the gateway and entered the void.

You have re-entered a combat scenario you have already completed. Would you like to increase the difficulty?

Rather than increase the difficulty only a single time, he did so twice. 

Screw it!

Moments later, he was ejected from the void and landed on the Tiefling planet. Blake hurriedly scanned the surrounding ruins, and only relaxed once he was assured he was safe. Only then did he check his objective.

Objective: Prevent the shield generator’s destruction for six hours.

Blake glanced at the partially constructed machine. It seemed to be around ninety percent assembled, and its completion would likely coincide with the six-hour timer given. Once completed, the shield would activate, and Blake’s defense would no longer be necessary.

Makes sense. Let's see what I have to work with.

While the timer counted down, Blake swiftly explored the area around the generator. Unfortunately, the shield generator was not within its own building in the center of a small town. Instead, it was entirely exposed, and housed within some sort of giant stone labyrinth.

Damnit!

The room he stood within was large, at least fifty feet on all sides. It, like the rest of the ancient labyrinth, was constructed of moss covered stone, and looked to have been built hundreds of years before.

Unfortunately, Blake counted four separate entrances to the room, each of which quickly split into additional pathways. It would not be possible to leave the generator and eliminate his competition at his convenience. If he did so, others could arrive through another entrance while he was gone.

Wish I had my old group for this.

Instead, he would be forced to stand his ground and defend the singular room the entire six hours. There would be no ambushes, no running to regroup when overwhelmed, and very little ranged combat possible. If he fled to save his own life, the Tieflings would only destroy the shield generator and trap him on the planet forever.

Blake was screwed.

Well, I did want a good fight. I chose this.

He opened his Spatial Storage and began to conjure six of the potions he held within it. It took a few minutes for all six to fully assemble, but once they did, he quickly consumed them all. The serums were Oliver’s best creations yet. Each potion increased an attribute by two for two full hours. 

Once the effect wore off, he could then retrieve another round of potions from his Spatial Storage and replace them. That was, unless he was in the middle of a fight. Luckily, Blake had filled the entire storage space with the attribute enhancers, along with a few healing potions.

Too bad I can’t get some Mander Steak from dad, too.

Unfortunately, his new Eager expansion did not yet have a talented chef capable of producing food with benefits. It did not even have a cook house. They had chosen instead to focus on the security a wall would provide. Only once it was finished would they construct bunkhouses, wells, cook houses, and everything else necessary to sustain a faction.

The clop of hooves on stone echoed off the walls and alerted him that an enemy was near. Once he was certain which hall contained them, he backed away until his back was against the far wall. Blake wanted the most distance between him and the Tieflings as possible.

He retrieved an arrow for his quiver and nocked it on the horn of his bow. 

If there were two advantages he held against the Tieflings, it was the weakness of their magic, and their inability to utilize stealth. Not only was Magic Power their weakest attribute, but the hooves on their feet were loud enough to be heard from half a mile away. As long as Blake remained alert, they were unlikely to take him by surprise.

Not that they have anywhere to hide.

Suddenly, a Tiefling turned the corner in the far hall and Blake released his energy charged arrow. The projectile pierced through the alien’s exposed, hairy chest and pinned it to the wall. A moment later, its wail was cut off by the chi explosion. The lead Tiefling died instantly, while those behind it were pelted by debris. 

“Retreat!” a Tiefling yelled as it pulled the injured away.

That’s right. You show your head, it’ll get blown right off your shoulders.

Blake already had another arrow prepared in case they attempted to peek around the corner. Unfortunately, none of his enemies were foolish enough to expose themselves, and Blake was forced to relax his pull on the string. He could not keep the bow drawn for hours.

What are you going to do now?

If Blake were in charge of their offensive, he would map out the labyrinth of hallways. Once that was completed, he would station a group at every entrance and carry out a combined charge from all directions. After all, he was only one person, and could only attack a single opponent at a time.

Although, they don’t know I’m alone. Hopefully they aren’t that smart.

Just because the Tieflings were sapient, did not mean they were geniuses. While he felt they were more intelligent than a Goblin or Kobold, they were nowhere near the level of a Human or Koza. 

He was also not aware of their numbers. If they spread themselves too thin in an attack, it would quickly fall apart. They would likely need to wait for reinforcements before they launched a successful assault.

Suddenly, Blake heard the clop of hooves to his right, through a separate entrance to his room. He shifted his position so he could survey both hallways at the same time. Blake felt like he could handle a combined assault from two directions, but not three or four.

When the sounds of travel grew louder, he once again readied an arrow. A Tiefling from a new group stepped around the corner and Blake impaled it with his projectile. The subsequent explosion scattered its fellows and frightened the new group away. Meanwhile, no assault came from the original group.

Looks like I lucked out. They aren’t working together at all.

***

Blake blocked a Tiefling’s attack with his spear, but was struck from behind by another’s axe. He screamed as the blade sliced through his jerkin and bit into his shoulder. The axe bounced off the bone, and Blake quickly redirected his Regeneration to stop the bleeding.

“Why won’t you just die!” the Tiefling yelled in frustration, its pointed tail thrashing violently.

Over the last six hours, Blake had accumulated multiple injuries. His hope that the groups would remain isolated was crushed only an hour in. Once they united, he was forced to rebuff combined assaults almost continuously. In each attempt, Blake grew closer to death or failure.

At this point, Blake did not even have the energy to berate himself for choosing such a high level scenario.

He continued to ignore the enemy on his flank and eliminated the Tiefling before him with a tired thrust. The spearhead became lodged within the alien’s ribs, and he did not have the strength to rip it free. 

Just leave it.

Blake let go of his weapon and whirled to face his last opponent. He raised his hands in defense as the axe blade once again fell, and feebly knocked it to the side. The sharp edge scraped along his arms and destroyed his sleeves, along with the top layer of his skin.

He ignored the wound and rushed forward, his hands around the alien’s red exposed neck. Blake tackled the Tiefling and proceeded to choke the last enemy to death. It dropped its weapon and attempted to remove his hands as it failed to draw breath. Its long fingers clawed at Blake's face, but he ignored the fleeting defense.

Over the next thirty seconds, the alien’s already reddish-purple face turned pale as no blood was allowed to its brain. Finally, its dark eyes rolled and it passed out. Despite its unconscious form, Blake continued to clasp the Tieflings neck until his interface finally confirmed its death.

Finally!

Blake released his grip and collapsed beside the corpse. His sweaty forehead rested on the ground as he panted and checked the objective.

Just four minutes left.

With extreme effort, he pushed himself off the ground and staggered over to a nearby wall. He leaned against it as he maintained watch for new threats as he futilely wiped the blood from his jerkin. 

Fortunately, none appeared.

You have successfully completed the Combat Scenario. Would you like to choose your reward now?

Thank God.

After Blake read the notice, his legs collapsed, and he sank to the ground amongst the corpses. He immediately attempted to retrieve his last healing potion from his Spatial Storage. It began to assemble, but would take another few minutes to be usable.

While he waited, he opened his status to see how much nano he earned from the last six hours of punishment.

Nano: 184m

When he subtracted the forty-one he held before he entered, it amounted to a gain of one hundred and forty-three mega-nano.

Only another two point two billion nano to go.

Blake shook his head in frustration.

At least I’m done giving away all my nano.

Despite the speed at which he gained nano, he had not leveled in over two months. Everything he earned, he donated to the faction to grow it and keep it afloat. The attack on The Dome by the military left him with almost zero nano to his name. 

Now, however, with the influx of new members, that had changed. He could finally switch his focus back to his own growth.

If he subjected himself to a level four scenario each day, it would only take three weeks to reach level three. However, Blake was not sure if he could handle that much daily punishment and still remain sane. 

Even he had limits.

He could complete two level three scenarios per day, as he had before, but that was extremely time-consuming. It would require his entire day and would leave no time to manage his faction or work on his image, as his mother suggested.

That’s fine, five or six weeks to gain two billion nano is still incredibly fast.

He closed his status, answered yes to the prompt, and began to sift through the scenario rewards. The first option presented to him was a hand axe. It would allow him to channel chi through its blade, similar to his spear, but lacked the reach of his current preferred weapon.

The second option was a new pair of gauntlets. They held the usual benefits and were double the defense of his current glove. Unfortunately, they were bulky and would not allow him to use his bow.

Now that’s interesting.

Next was a ring which contained a reusable charge of ‘Heal Self’. The spell was a weaker version of his brother’s healing potions, and with only a third of the potency. However, after it was used, the charge could be refilled by his own energy. According to the description, it would take an hour to restore use of the ability.

Not bad.

Unfortunately, it would replace his current ring, which increased his Physical Power by five.

Not worth it.

The last option was a new steel plated tunic. While it lacked the sleeves of his current armor, it had something far more valuable, a defensive spell.

Now THAT’s what I’m talking about!

The chest piece would siphon aetheric energy from him to power a channeled Force Resistance. While the ability was active, a bubble would surround him, which slowed all movement it came in contact with. That included bullets, arrows, swords, spears, and fists. 

The ability was strong, and he had considered it the last time he leveled. But, it required heavy concentration to maintain, and needed careful management, as it would need to be dropped each time he fired an arrow. 

The armor, however, eliminated that downside.

Because the spell was enchanted into the armor itself, he would no longer need heavy focus to maintain it. He simply needed to switch the ability on or off with a thought. 

It was an amazing reward, and he chose it immediately. Unfortunately, the armor would create a new issue for him. It would not cover his Mark of Cain. The armory held a set of bracers he could equip to protect his forearms, but they would do nothing to hide his tattoo, which now crawled up his biceps. 

I guess I’ll have to wear long sleeves from now on.

Clothes could conceal the tattoo, but unlike the nano-gear he wore, they were extremely fragile. They would be shredded by only a graze, or burned away instantly by an Electrocute. He could also not wear any nano-enhanced clothing beneath the new armor, as it would interfere with its own defense and spell.

It was not an issue in a scenario. Obviously, he could simply take off the long sleeve shirt after he entered. However, any time he fought in public, he would need to be careful.

The last thing he wanted was to give his enemies more ammunition to use against him. 

Although, Jennifer already let that cat out of the bag. At least, most people don’t know what the tattoo means yet.

As the first human to murder another within the Collective, his
Mark of Cain achievement provided an additional boost when he killed another human. Others who did so received their own mark and achievement, but with a different design and name. The lesser achievement did not give them a twenty-five percent boost.

Thank God for that, or there’d be more murderers out there.

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